Peanut Butter Chocolate Chips

Peanut Butter Chips

Ingredients ---

1 cup of Margarine

1 1/2 cups of white sugar 

2 eggs (beaten)

2 teaspoons of vanilla

2/3 cups of cocoa

2 cups of flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup peanut butter chipits

Directions --

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Add margarin, sugar, and vanilla in bowl.

3. Beat eggs well, then add to bowl.

4. Mix ingredients together.

5. After mixing add cocoa, flower, baking soda, and salt and mix well.

6. Once well mixed add peanut butter chocolate chips.

7. Distribute the dough onto a tray, and place in oven.

8. Wait 8-10 mins.

9. Let tray sit 5 mins before removing cookies from tray.

Week 5-ish EASTER

This week we are posting recipes somehow related to Easter, and how we acknowledge the resurrection with our families.

Brownies

Lately I have been making brownies for my family, they are always gone fast and everyone loves them, I found the recipe in an old school cookbook.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
  
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• any kind of nut (optional)

• 3 tbsp butter, softened
• 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup confectioners sugar

 Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.
2. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup of butter. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.
4. To Make Frosting: Combine 3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 cup confectioners sugar. Frost brownies while they are still warm. 

Changes: 

My family loves how the brownies turn out, they're always gone so fast!
I liked how I put them in for just the right amount of time and they turned out fantastic.
I didn't use nuts, I don't really like the taste of them in brownies.
 

 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yesterday I made cookies. I put a litter bit less salt to make it more healthy. we tried a different way that just put a little amount of sugar in . But is not taste so good. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup chocolate chips

 Directions:

Mix all ingredients together

Drop by teaspoons full onto greased cookie sheet

Bake in 325F oven for 12-13 minutes

From the kitchen of Nicky o' Hagan

Almond Sand Squares

Tonight for desert I made almond sand squares from an old family recipe. Everyone in my family said they were delicious & my sister even kissed me on the cheek & said I was 'the best.' So they were pretty good.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb of butter
• 2/3 cups of brown sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 2 cups of flour
• 2/3 cups of white sugar
• 3 tsp of almond extract
• 1 tsp of baking powder

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cream together butter and sugars; beat in egg.
• Mix together remaining ingredients.
• Fill mini-muffin tins with batter and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Changes:
       
I doubled everything so I had more batter, & I added a chocolate chip to the top of the tarts. You could also add almonds, fruit, or other various items that are edible.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I got this recipe from an old cookbook from my grandma. These cookies have always been a family favourite, so I decided to bake them myself.

Ingredients

2/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
2 packages (6 ounces each) semisweet chocolate pieces

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix thoroughly shortening, butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased  baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool slightly before removing baking sheet. Makes about 7 dozen cookies.

Changes

Instead of chocolate pieces I used small m&m's, and didn't add any nuts. I also baked using a convection oven, so I lowered the temperature to 325 degrees and for only 9 minutes. It is easier to make evenly shaped cookies by using an ice cream scoop to place onto the pan.  I then served them after they were still slightly warm, adding a scoop of ice cream inbetween two cookies, making an ice cream sandwich. 

Dutch Apple Pie

The recipe can be found here. 
I used two different recipes for this pie, because the recipe online said "your favorite pie crust." I used a pie crust recipe written down in a note book, that my family has used forever, so I don't know really where it came from, but it tastes great! I also had to make a half batch of the pie crust, because I did not need to make a crust topping (It was a crumble topping). 

Ingredients: 

1 your favorite homemade pie crusts or 1 ready-made pie crust (see below for recipe)
5 1/2 cups peeled cored sliced cooking apples
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Topping:

3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup butter or 1/3 cup margarine, room temperature

Directions:

1
Preheat oven to 375°F.
2
Fit pie crust into pie plate.
3
In a large bowl, mix sliced apples, lemon juice, both sugars,flour, cinnamon and nutmeg.
4
Pile into crust.
5
Prepare topping:.
6
In a medium bowl, with a pastry blender or a fork, mix flour, both sugars, and butter until coarsely crumbled.
7
Sprinkle evenly over apples.
8
Bake at 375°F for 50 minutes.

Pie Crust

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup cold shortening or lard
5 tablespoons cold water (or more)

Directions:

Cut fat into flour and salt, until it has the constancy of rolled outs. sprinkle cold water while tossing the mixture with a fork. Form into a ball and cut in half. Wrap in wax paper and let chill for 30 minutes. Let it stand at room temperature for 5 minutes, then roll out on floured surface. 

Lemon Squares

I made these squares for my Fun Food Fact Friday presentation. I found this recipe in an old school cookbook.

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 4 beaten eggs
• 6 Tbsp. lemon juice
• Pinch of salt
• 4 Tbsp. flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 cups sugar

 Directions
Crumble together 2 cups flour, icing sugar, butter, and margarine. Spread into a 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake  at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and spread the following mixture over the top. Mix eggs, lemon juice, salt, 4 Tbsp. flour, baking powder and sugar. Spread over base. Return to oven and bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes. Sprinkle lightly with icing sugar while warm. Cut into squares when cool.

Things I changed: I didn't have the right kind of margarine so I used all butter. Also, the squares were still pretty gooey, next time I'll put them in for longer.
  

Week 4 (or something like that) BAKING!

This week's category is baking.

Muffins
Cookies
Squares
Breads
Rolls

It's different than desserts - we'll do that later.

Enjoy!

Lasagna Soup

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com 
Serves 4
Takes 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 can (14 ounce) beef broth
• 1 can (14.5 ounce) diced tomatoes
• 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked mafalda or corkscrew-shaped pasta
• 1/4 cups parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Cook beef with garlic in skillet until browned. Pour off fat.
2. Add broth, tomatoes and Italian seasoning. Heat to a boil.
3. Stir in pasta. Cook over medium heat for 10 min. or until pasta is done. Stir in cheese. Serve with additional cheese if desired. 

Changes : I didn't use the garlic powder, and I just sliced 2 tomatoes used 2 1/2 cups of egg noodles because I have a bigger family.

Ham & Potato Soup

I found this recipe from an old school cookbook


Ingredients

- 3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
- 1/3 cup diced celery
- 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
- 3/4 cup diced cooked ham
- 3 1/4 cups water
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk

Directions

1. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham, and water in a pot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in chicken bouillon, salt, and pepper.

2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork,  and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as to not allow lumps to form until all the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.

3. Stir the milk mixture into the pot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.
Changes
I used chicken broth instead of chick bouillon cubes and I also added some sliced carrots and served with croissants.

Wonton Soup

vhttp://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Wonton-Soup/Detail.aspxhttp://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Wonton-Soup/Detail.aspx

This week I made wonton soup.
Ingredients:

1/2 pound boneless pork loin,coarsely chopped

2 ounces peeled shrimp finely chopped

1 teaspoon brown sugar 

1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1 teaspoon finely chopped green onion

1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger root

24(3.5 inch square)wonton wrappers

3 cups chicken stock

1/8 cup finely chopped green onion

Directions :

1. In a large bowl, combine pork, shrimp, sugar, wine, soy sauce, 1 teaspoon chopped green onion and ginger. Blend well, and let stand for 25 to 30 minutes.
2. Place about one teaspoon of the filling at the center of each wonton skin. Moisten all 4 edges of wonton wrapper with water, then pull the top corner down to the bottom, folding the wrapper over the filling to make a triangle. Press edges firmly to make a seal. Bring left and right corners together above the filling. Overlap the tips of these corners, moisten with water and press together. Continue until all wrappers are used.
3. FOR SOUP: Bring the chicken stock to a rolling boil. Drop wontons in, and cook for 5 minutes. Garnish with chopped green onion, and serve.

Split Pea Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter (30 ml)
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 leek, white part only, washed and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1 1/2 pound ham hock (preferably smoked) (681 g)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• Pinch dried chile flakes (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups green split peas (375 ml)
• 10 cups chicken stock (2.5 litres)
• Small handful fresh coriander, chopped
• Small handful flat leaf parsley, chopped
• Coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• Additional stock or water, if needed to thin the soup

Directions

1. Heat the butter in a Dutch oven or large soup pot on medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, leek, and garlic and cook until soft, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the ham hock, bay leaves, thyme, chile flakes and split peas and cook 2 minutes longer. Increase heat to high. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer soup for 2 hours or until split peas are soft, partially covered, stirring occasionally.
2. Remove the ham hock and take meat off bone and reserve. Serve with the soup or in the soup whichever you prefer. Discard the bay leaves and thyme stalks.
3. With a hand held blender smooth purée some of the soup. If the soup is too thick add some more water or stock to loosen. Bring back to a boil and add the chopped coriander and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Fruit Salad

Elijah's Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 apple
• Bundle of grapes
• 1 banana
• 5-10 strawberries
• 5-10 blueberries
• 1/4 of a pineapple
• 4 kiwis

Directions:

Cut up apple, banana, kiwis, strawberries and pineapple. Put in bowl and mix with grapes, and blueberries.

Tada!!!

Avocado, Tomato & Feta Salad

(serves 4)

Ingredients: 

-2 ripe tomatoes, sliced

-1 large ripe (slightly soft) avocado

-1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

-1 clove of garlic, minced

-2 Tbsp. of red wine vinegar or lemon juice

-4-5 Tbsp. Greek extra-virgin olive oil

-fine sea salt & fresh ground pepper

-chopped fresh oregano leaves

-crumbled or cubed Feta cheese

-washed Romaine lettuce leaves

Directions:

1. Slice your tomatoes, onions, minced garlic and add to a bowl along with the vinegar, olive oil and a pinch of salt and toss to coat. Allow the flavours to marry for about 15 minutes.
2. When you’re ready to serve your salad, Cut your avocado in half, remove and discard the pit and cut into slices (or chunks). Squeeze some lemon juice on them (to prevent browning) and arrange your salad in a platter with the romaine lettuce on the bottom then arrange your tomato and avocado slices and top with the sliced onions.
3. Pour the dressing in the bowl on top of your salad, top with sea salt, crumbled Feta, fresh ground pepper and fresh oregano and drizzle with some more extra-virgin olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice.

Rice Salad

I was looking through the 'Our Favourite Recipes Cookbook" cookbook, and I could only find one salad that looked acceptable, so I decided to try it even though it was a rice salad. I would like to thank Linda Mallette for dreaming it up, because I have liked it enough to make it again.

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups rice
1 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 or 2 cans shrimp (optional)
1 cup peas
Sauce:
1/2 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp soya sauce
1/2 Crisco oil
1 tsp Accent
1 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp pepper

Cook the rice and cool. Add celery, onion, shrimp and peas. Sauce: Mix ingredients; stir into rice mixture. Stir everything well before serving, as sauce settles to the bottom.

Changes: For this lovely salad, I did not have enough rice. I used 1/3 cup of rice, and then cooked and added 1 cup of noodles. I foregoed the onion, shrimp and peas, and instead settled for 1 cup of corn. For the sauce I didn't use Accent because it simply did not seem appetizing  and I doubled the curry amount because it gave a nicer aroma. To top it off, I improvised because I had no celery salt, so I added 1 tsp of salt and one teaspoon of celery seed.

Cooking Class

Broccoli Cheese Quiche

This is not a true quiche recipe as it is not made in a pie shell, but it is a very tasty one.

  

Ingredients:

300 g frozen broccoli

3 cups cheddar, grated and divided

1 ½ cups cooked chicken

2/3 cups chopped green onion

1 1/3 cups milk

3 eggs, beaten

¼ cup Bisquick mix

¾ tsp salt

3/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°

Mix first four (4) ingredients (only using 2 cups of the cheddar) into the 8” square glass pan.

Mix next five ingredients.  Pour over broccoli, etc.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a knife, inserted, comes out clean.    I have found it may take a bit longer (depending on your oven). 

Sprinkle with remaining cheese and broil until brown and bubbly.

Serves 4-6 people.

Enjoy!

Grandma's Chicken Noodle Soup

I found the recipie here

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups wide egg noodles
4 cups water
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
12 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup carrot, diced
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
4 cups diced cooked chicken
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions:

Directions

1
In a medium saucepan, bring about 4 cups of water to a boil. Add noodles and oil and boil 8 minutes. Drain. Rinse under cool running water. Drain again.
2
In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, bring broth, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning to a boil. Stir in vegetables. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes.
3
In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and water together until cornstarch is completely dissolved. Gradually add to soup, stirring constantly. Add noodles and chicken. Heat through and serve.